For the first time in decades, Memorial Day weekend showed a decrease in travel. Although the numbers aren't in yet, the FTA announced that road travel in March was down by 11 billion miles, which is the worst decline since these statistics were first reported in 1942. Obviously, the culprit is the price of fuel, which is currently hovering around the $4.00 per gallon mark, depending on the grade you use.
Discussion of the rising price of oil is going to dominate the media for the forseeable future, and there's plenty of finger-pointing concerning the reasons for the continuing escalation.
Some of the reasons being discussed are China and India’s growing economies, speculators, oil corporation executives, automobile manufacturers resisting emission and fuel efficiency standards, environmentalists and treehuggers who stand in the way of drilling in pretty places, and of course the Iraq War.
Ok, so there's plenty of blame to spread. The fallout is immense, but the concept of not being able to afford to travel is literally hitting home, or rather, it’s hitting millions of homes. There’s a new term for the homebound holiday; "the Staycation," which consists of locally based frivolities such as going to a nearby amusement park, movie theatre, or just not leaving the house at all. This phenomenon is not only the "next" thing–it is actually happening right now.
What this really means is that the consumer is finally catching on to current economic realities and is actually taking the necessary steps to ensure financial security. This sort of belt-tightening isn’t a very pleasant way to become energy efficient, but rising prices certainly have a way of helping people make smarter decisions. Hopefully, the lessons we’re learning this time around won't be forgotten like they were during the energy crisis of the 1970s. Chances are we won't be able to.
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